HRSA awards $2.2 million to increase organ donation

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced more than $2.2 million in grants to help identify effective strategies for increasing organ donation.

The funds are awarded under two programs administered by HRSA’s Division of Transplantation:

The Social and Behavioral Interventions to Increase Solid Organ Donation program ($1,212,717) is designed to improve understanding of ways to increase organ and tissue donation. These research projects will measure the potential of specific interventions to increase organ donation.

The Public Education Efforts to Increase Solid Organ Donation program ($1,027,895) educates the public about the demand for organs to boost commitment to organ donation.

"More than 109,000 Americans are on waiting lists to receive organs for transplantation, and the number keeps growing,” said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. “It’s clear that more needs to be done to educate the public about this critical need, and to develop new approaches to increase donation."

HRSA has Federal oversight of the nation's organ donation and transplantation network. For more information, please visit www.organdonor.gov. A list of grant awards follows:

Social and Behavioral Interventions to Increase Solid Organ Donation

Organization

City

State

Award

Emory University

Atlanta

Ga.

$330,508

Lifeline of Ohio Organ Procurement Organization

Columbus

Ohio

$253,838

St. Vincent Medical Center

Los Angeles

Calif.

$320,298

National Kidney Foundation of Michigan

Ann Arbor

Mich.

$308,073

Subtotal

$1,212,717

Public Education Efforts to Increase Solid Organ Donation

Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Urbana

Ill.

$281,477

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Pa.

$346,408

Washington University

St. Louis

Mo.

$400,010

Subtotal

$1,027,895

Total

$2,240,612

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The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.